Wearable health devices and health related apps are flooding the market. From heart monitors to sleep trackers, patients have a wide array of models to choose from. Today, I had a nice chat with one of my gastric sleeve patients, Sharon, in the office. She is 5 months out of surgery and she is feeling FANTASTIC after losing 75 lbs. She is off her high blood pressure medications, her low back pain has resolved and she is finally able to walk, dance and workout every day. Sharon reports lot of energy. She is no longer tired and fatigued throughout the day. Sharon is using Fitbit CHARGE to track her calorie intake, daily water consumption and number of steps per day. She is logging more than 25,000 steps on average every day. She loves her Fitbit. It gives her important feedback on how many calories she is consuming but more importantly how many steps she is walking or jogging. She has made several “Fitbit” friends across the world with whom she engages in several fitness challenges that motivate her and help her stay on track.
Do we really need a Fitbit to improve our fitness? Our hectic and sedentary modern lifestyle may require such health and fitness trackers. After learning about Fitbit today I realized that I spent the whole day in office seeing one patient after another without drinking a drop of water. I was sipping on coffee all day and when I was done working I took the elevator instead of the stairs. On the way out, walking to my car I came across our receptionist who was doing laps around our office building trying to increase the number of steps on her own Fitbit!! I felt really bad and I drove straight ahead to the nearest shop and bought a Fitbit for myself. I also bought the Fitbit scale to monitor my weight too. At the end of the day, we have to be proactive, like Sharon and the receptionist, about our health. Do whatever it takes to increase our level of activity in the midst of our sedentary lifestyle. Sharon keeps her step numbers up by walking around the island of her kitchen when working at home and around her office building when working at her company headquarter in downtown Houston. Sharon has made the commitment after her gastric sleeve surgery to lose weight and improve her health. No wonder she has lost 75 pounds in 5 months. For the year of 2016, let us all be a Sharon. Let us track and record our food intake, heart rate, and steps we take. Let us invest in our health for more than 80% of our modern life health issues are directly linked to lifestyle. What you eat and how much you exercise affects your longevity, your well-being and ultimately your happiness.